I joined her site Mom Masterminds soon after that, in February of 2005 so that I'd have the opportunity to get to know her better. (Sneaky, eh? I was stalking her!)

Since then we've partnered on many projects including ReliableWebs.com & EasyArticleMarketing.com, she's been an adviser to me, and a sanity saver on multiple occasions.

Here's more about Kelly:

Kelly McCausey has built a thriving internet business doing what she loves; writing, creating, coaching and encouraging others. With a goal to provide high value, low cost resources and services that help moms achieve dreams of working at home, Kelly publishes a variety of blogs, podcasts, ebooks and audio products along with a weekly newsletter that reaches 6000+ moms.

The audio recording of our interview is at the end of this blog post. Just look for the “play” button and listen. It’s free!

Learn More about Kelly here –> WAHMTalkRadio

Paid “Must Have” Tools & Resources Mentioned in this Call:

• Amember– for running membership sites
• Membernaire– a course about running membership sites
• Basecamp – to help you juggle projects, clients, and helpers without losing your mind.

Free “Must Have” Tools & Resources Mentioned in this Call:

• Google: Gmail, Apps, Calendar, Docs
• Twitter: Kelly on Twitter | Nicole Dean on Twitter
• Tweetdeck

Kelly's Mentor

• Alice Seba

Takeaway Points from Kelly

• Offer much free content.
• Adjust your business smartly.
• Focus on one market
• Look for & expect cooperation.

Listen below and leave me a comment about your thoughts and/or who you’d like to hear as a guest in a future episode.

Comment to Enter to Win Kelly's
The Complete Internet Marketing Moms Start Up Guide
$35 Value

After listening to the show, comment below and you'll be entered to win a prize from Kelly. (US and Canada are only eligible as this has to be put in the mail – but I, of course, hope you'll comment no matter where you live.)

Here are some ideas.

– Tell us something you learned from the show.
– Tell us something you're changing after listening.
– Tell us about a time when you fell flat on your face and had to get back up.
– Tell us a time you took a risk and it paid off.
– Tell us what questions you have about your business.

One winner will be chosen from all “non-spam” comments (US and Canada) by using Random.org.

PS. Click to learn  How to Record Telephone Interviews like I do.

First of all, hiring a copywriters is darned expensive.
Secondly, it can be a really hard skill to learn.

Well, one of my clients happens to be one of the top copywriters in the WORLD. (See? Hanging around me has some benefits.)

Anyway, I found out that she had some copywriting critique videos and I asked her if she'd be willing to make them available so that more people could learn how awesome she is.

Being the generous person (and smart business woman) that she is… she agreed.

So, without further ado, here is copy critique #1.
FREE COPYWRITING VIDEOS

There will be a new video released each week for 5 weeks, so, if you don't want to miss any, be sure to get on her newsletter list.

Have a wonderful week.
Nicole

No matter what type of business you have … you are losing money if you don't have a rockin' list.

I have a resource I think you'll like. Kelly McCausey put together a holiday report with an audio about how to increase your profits with a mailing list this holiday season –
Make Money with your List
It's very affordable and it comes with a worksheet. It's definitely a great buy for anyone looking to increase their holiday profits.

Plus, here is my favorite article that I wrote about Common Newsletter Mistakes. Enjoy..

****
Nobody Signing up for your Newsletter?
by Nicole Dean

Question: Why is nobody signing up for my newsletter? I know that's
where the money is, but I just can't get anyone to sign up. What
can I do?
Signed – Yoo hoo… Anyone there?

Dear Yoo hoo… Anyone there?
Please don't feel badly. I actually get this question a lot in my
consulting business. It's a very common problem and, fortunately,
one that you can start improving today.

Here is the short version of the checklist I go through with
clients when examining ways to fix this problem.

1. Where do I sign up?
The first thing I do when I'm helping a client is to play the game
called “Where's the signup box?” If it takes me more than half a
second to find the newsletter signup form, then we've got work to
do.

Your signup box should not be a challenge to find. If it is, it's
defeating the purpose. So, put it front and center in the top third
of your page. It's not even a bad thing if you have it on your page
… gasp… twice.

Also, most people have pop-up blockers now, so don't rely on a
pop-up to get you a parade of traffic. Pop-ups and pop-unders are
great, but they can't be the only ways to get people on your list.

2. What am I signing up for?
The next thing I check is the copy in the signup box. If your best
sales pitch is “Sign up for my mailing list” or “Sign up for our
newsletter” – then forget about it!

It used to be years ago that's all you needed to say, but now
people need a little more explanation and encouragement. Will you
be providing tips, ideas, freebies, coupons, resources or advice?
Let me know what I'm getting into before I'll hand over my email
address…. And it better be good.

3. Why should I sign up?
A little bribery can go a long ways. Will I get a bonus for signing
up? Do you have a special report or a freebie for me? No? Well, get
to work. There's a lot of competition out there, so don't be afraid
to offer a little extra to your visitors.

4. How do I sign up?
The last item on my checklist is the sign-up procedure. If you're
using a service that makes me jump through too many hoops, then
I'll probably give up and move on to something else. Yes, double
opt-in is good, but programs that make you join and jump too many
times are just ridiculous.

Plus, if you're asking for too much information (like my telephone
number), I'll likely pass. There's no email list worth me getting
phone calls during dinner. It doesn't matter how good your mailing
list is.

So, there you have it. Start with this quick checklist to see
immediate improvement in your sign-ups. As far as getting traffic
to your site to see your signup box – that's another article in the making.

***

If you need enticements (bribes) to get people to your list, grab some free e-books here http://www.free-ebooksonline.com

Have a great day!
Nicole

PS. Don't forget to check out Kelly's Holiday Report at – Make Money with Your List

Nicole, you asked for a question so here goes: How do I know if what I'm writing has any impact? I very rarely get any feedback even when I ask for some. How do I know if this is my target group?

Hi, and thanks for replying to my newsletter. Here are some tips I can give for making your newsletter list more responsive…

1. Try sending a text version instead of an html version, if appropriate. If you have a professional business, of course that wouldn't work, but if you're trying to build a relationship where you're recommending products and services, then it may get better results. One thing I learned from Alice Seba's email tips is that friends write in plain text, so people may tend to read that as if it were written by a friend, rather than as written by a business.

2. Write to one person, when appropriate. Rather than saying “Hi everyone” or “to everyone reading this” — act as if you're writing to just a friend.

3. When you ask for feedback and don't get it, offer an incentive next time. Say “as a thank you for replying to this survey, I'd like to give you …” or “send me your #1 question and receive …” That can help get people to act.

4. Track your links in your newsletter to see if what you're sending IS hitting the mark. If you do a redirect, you can check your stats to see how many people clicked through the link. That'll give you an idea if your offer was appealing to them or not. Then, tailor your future mailings to what is attractive to your readers.

For instance, in this post, I linked to http://www.showmomthemoney.com/email-tips.htm 
Now, in a few days, I can go into my stats to see how many of my readers were interested in receiving newsletter tips from Alice Seba. See how easy that is?

I hope that helps. Please keep the questions and comments coming!
Nicole

]]> https://nicoleonthenet.com/254/newsletter-getting-feedback/feed/ 1 https://nicoleonthenet.com/241/ladypens-press-release/ https://nicoleonthenet.com/241/ladypens-press-release/#respond Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:32:17 +0000 http://nicoleonthenet.com/2006/ladypens-press-release/ I recently had a press release written for LadyPens.com. It's about how offline magazines are using our services.

If you know of a local parenting magazine or church newsletter who might benefit from our free articles, please share the press release with them. It can be found here – About LadyPens.com

Let's get our articles published!
Nicole

Claim Your Free eBook: “Top 10 eBay Secrets for Successful Selling” http://www.showmomthemoney.com/ar.htm (It's in the newsletter signup box)

Here's a wonderful article by an e-Bay expert that I'd like to share with you.

Top Ebay Business Secrets Revealed
Copyright 2006 by Jason James

Ten million-let me say that number again-over ten million people visited the Ebay website last month. With everything from online auctions to drop shipping opportunities, the Ebay business website has something for everyone. If you are thinking about joining in on the hysteria and trying to make your fortune with an Ebay business of your own, here are some of the best things you can do to maximize your chances for success.

Do Your Homework

To begin with, you want to know as much as possible about the items you plan on offering on the Ebay auctions. This not only helps you create more interesting descriptions, but it also helps when trying to answer the barrage of questions that inevitably fly at you from potential buyers. The more knowledgeable you appear, the more likely you are to make a sale!

You also need to know if there is actually a market out there for what you are planning to sell. While you might occasionally hear about some off-the-wall item commanding big money at auction, these are the exceptions and not something to base your Ebay business upon. Run a search on the item and see how many items for that keyword come up to get an idea about your potential market. Chances of success are poor if no one else is selling a similar item.

Keywords and Descriptions Will Make or Break You

People find their way to Ebay auctions by using keywords to find the items they want. Your listing will use keywords to draw people in to bid on your item. If you try employing a keyword that no one uses, then who will come to bid on your item?

There are websites out there that will allow you to type in a keyword and see how many people used that keyword in the past month. These sites are free and a great way to test the keyword you intend to use. Just go to any search engine and type in “free keyword selector tool” and a number of sites will come up offering help finding the perfect keyword to attract people to bid on your item.

Once you have the people coming in to look at your item you are going to need a great description in order to get them to actually bid. If you are not the best writer but are serious about succeeding with your Ebay business, you may want to consider hiring a freelance writer to compose stunning descriptions that will awe people into bidding on your item. But, by doing your homework, it is usually possible to write a great description simply by being knowledgeable about the item and simply conveying some of that knowledge in your description.

Post Items During “Hot Periods”

Anyone serious about succeeding with their Ebay business needs to know when to post items and when to hold onto them. Online auctions offering leather jackets in July may solicit a few bids but they will obviously be lower than they would be had the item been posted in late fall or early winter. If you have an odd item and are not sure what the best time would be to post it on Ebay auctions, try searching for the item on the Internet. Find out what the current buzz is or whether there is any for your item. Also, try finding other sellers on the Ebay business site offering the same item. If you find a lot of people selling the same item now, then clearly it is a good time to post. Timing can really make a difference in the final price you receive for your item.

Now there are of course other things you need to do if you want your Ebay business to succeed such as: post the item in the right category, make buying easy by offering a number of payment options, and keeping your shipping costs to a minimum. All of these are essentials to a successful Ebay business but are not likely to have the same effect upon your chances of success like the other ideas mentioned earlier.

There is no doubt that Ebay auctions are a great way to make some serious money. By doing your homework, using the right keywords and descriptions, and by posting during the hot periods for your items, you significantly increase the odds of your Ebay business succeeding and making all of your financial dreams a reality. So what are you waiting for? Start doing your homework now!

Article by:
Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Seller of 4 years. His website “The Auction Resource Network” reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Claim Your Free eBook: “Top 10 eBay Secrets for Successful Selling”
http://www.showmomthemoney.com/ar.htm

Nicole

When that happens, there's a solution for you. Free reprint articles. You can use these articles on your website, blog, or even your newsletter. If you have a printed newsletter that you mail out, you can use them there, too. The only rule is that you don't change the article at all, and that you include the author's resource box AND link to their site.

Here are some places you can find free reprint articles –
www.LadyPens.com – Free reprint articles by women
www.The-Best-You.com – Health articles

And, one of my favorites – FreeAffiliateArticles.com — and the bonus here is that ALL of these articles have affiliate programs tied with them. So, when you include that link, you can use YOUR affiliate link for their program. Articles that make you money when you publish them. Not a bad deal, eh?

Use as many as you need. That's what they're there for.
Talk soon,
Nicole

I just wanted to send a quick reminder to grab some Mother's Day articles for your blog or your newsletter here – Mother's Day Articles

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers and Mother-figures out there.
Nicole

Write a Viral e-Book Easily

Every time I release a free e-book to my subscribers, I get great feedback about how awesome I am and how they could NEVER create anything so cool.

((sigh))

I have a confession to make. You see … it is really really simple to make a short, viral e-book. It's not rocket science, I promise.

If you know how to use Word for Windows, you can create an e-book. Now, as far as doing market research to find out if anyone will *buy* your e-book — that's a whole ‘nother ball game. But, if you want to make a nice little giveaway for some viral marketing, it's easy as pie!

Step 1:
Write your e-book in Word for Windows.

As you write it, keep the following in mind:

* This e-book should serve a purpose, either to generate traffic to your website or to make affiliate sales. However, it should also be informative and useful to the reader. This e-book will represent your company. Make it quality.

* Double check that all links are active before you save your final copy in Word.

* Keep your images and pictures small, because you don't want the final product to have a large file size. When you're saving your images, test the file types. I find that saving an image in .jpg is smaller than saving it in some other file sizes. Test yours, too.

Step 2:
Go to my favorite tool, http://convert.neevia.com/

See where it says “Select the file”?
Browse to your Word for Windows file and click Upload and Convert

That's all there is. Like I said, EASY EASY EASY.

Now, it's your job to get your e-book into the hands of people.

1. Send it to your mailing list or newsletter.
2. Allow your friends to give it away.
3. Submit it to free e-book directories.
4. Use it as an enticement for people to sign up for your mailing list (You can say “Sign up and receive this cool e-book – free!”)
5. You can even give it away as a free gift to people who win your auctions on eBay to make your auction stand out from others.

So, if you'd like to have viral marketing working for you, too, get started today on your giveaway!

Nicole Dean invites you to take her free tutorial for more simple ways to get more traffic. Sign up for Web Traffic School at http://www.WebTrafficBasics.com And, for many examples of free ebooks, stop by http://www.free-ebooksonline.com

This article is available for reprint.

You're Not On Mute, You Know
By: Constance Weygandt

I am a multitasker. That is why I love the mute button when on a conference call in my home. It allows me to get a few small tasks done, let my dog in and out of the house and keep a running commentary going with the host, with no one the wiser.

I say things like;

“I agree.”
“I’m with you.”
“You’re right.”

Sometimes I say things like:

“That can’t be right.”
“Well, I wouldn’t put it that way.”
“I don’t agree with you.”

Such was the case the other night, while on a conference call. However, I started to notice something different about this call. As always, I said a few words when I got on and immediately put myself on mute. Then it seemed as if there were technical difficulties. The host sounded as if he was speaking in a tunnel. I thought that strange but things happen. The call became stranger. In my running commentary, to myself, I would ask questions that it seemed the host anticipated. I thought, “ Wow. This guy is really great. He anticipates any question someone could ask.”

Finally, in trying to drive home his point, he made an analogy involving a first car. He said, “Imagine your first car. It’s a stick shift with a clutch and you drive it to the top of a hill and then what happens?”

I answered, on mute, “Well, obviously, you start to slide back down the hill.”

The host laughed,“ You could do that but no, you would floor the gas.”

Then I knew. The most horrible sensation washed over me.

“I am not on mute, am I?”

“No, you are not on mute.”

This whole time, on the conference call, as my unfiltered thoughts are spouting out of my mouth, people from all across the nation are listening to me. Mute had betrayed me. What was once my conference call ally was now just a nightmare. I instinctively disconnected the call.

What I found to be very, very odd was that not one person mentioned that they could hear me. It would have been nice of someone had said, “ You’re not on mute, you know.” Or “ I can hear you.” So, I wondered, even if I am in the privacy of my home and on mute where no one can hear me, is it ever a good idea to let thoughts flow out of your mind unfiltered and say them aloud?

I have learned my lesson. From now on, I will mute both the phone and myself when on a conference call. And, in the future, do me a favor? If you come across someone who appears to be chattering for no apparent reason other than to hear themselves talk, will you gently remind them, “ You’re not on mute, you know.” I know I will.

Article by:
Constance Weygandt is an author, speaker and balance mentor. For more information on balance and wellness or to receive her newsletter, visit her at http://www.balancedwellnessonline.com/